What potential does psychotherapy have for mediating the impact of childhood developmental trauma on adult life?

Combining knowledge from trauma-focused work, understandings of the developmental brain and the neurodynamics of psychotherapy, the authors explain how good care and poor care in childhood influence adulthood. They provide scientific background to deepen understanding of childhood developmental trauma. They introduce principles of therapeutic change and how and why mind-body and brain-based approaches are so effective in the treatment of developmental trauma. The book focuses in particular on Pesso Boyden System Psychotherapy (PBSP) which uniquely combines and integrates key processes of mind-body work that can facilitate positive change in adult survivors of childhood maltreatment. Through client stories Petra Winnette and Jonathan Baylin describe the clinical application of PBSP and the underlying neuropsychological concepts upon which it is based.

Working with Traumatic Memories to Heal Adults with Unresolved Childhood Trauma has applications relevant to psychotherapists, psychologists and psychiatrists working with clients who have experienced trauma.

About the Authors:

Petra Winnette has a PhD in Comparative Science from Charles University, Prague. She has a master degree in Pedagogy, Literature and Visual Art. She studied Applied and Developmental Psychology at the University College Cork, Ireland. She is certified in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP Institute, USA, UK) Attachment Focused Therapy (AFTI, USA) and Pesso Boyden System Psychomotor therapy (PBSP Institute, Boston, USA). She is founder and director of Natama Institute for Family Care Development in Prague where she has an extensive practice in counseling and therapy. For the last sixteen years she has specialized in the areas of early development, trauma and attachment in her work with families, children and adults. Petra speaks at national and international conferences, provides training and gives lectures. She lives in Prague, Czech Republic.

Jonathan Baylin, PhD, a psychologist in private practice, provides workshops for therapists on integrating knowledge about the brain with psychotherapy. He has been working in the mental health field for 35 years. For the past 15 years, while continuing his clinical practice, he has immersed himself in the study of neurobiology and in teaching mental health practitioners about the brain. He has developed a brain-based model of attachment-focused treatment to help therapists and caregivers facilitate the child's journey from mistrust to trust. Jonathan lives in Delaware, USA.